We're back! Well kind of, we appreciate everyone's patience as we deal with the demanding schedules of our regular work lives. We look forward to returning you to more regularly scheduled episodes. In this episode, we soar into the future of aviation with a deep dive into Automatic Takeoff Systems and Single-Pilot Operations. Join us as we explore how this groundbreaking technology is set to revolutionize takeoffs by minimizing human error and maximizing safety. Could flying solo become the new norm? Discover the potential cost savings and the challenges of relying on just one pilot in the cockpit. Plus, we’ll uncover how these advancements will reshape aircraft maintenance, demanding a tech-savvy skill set from mechanics. Buckle up for an enlightening journey through the skies of innovation!
Follow us on Facebook- @cancelledformaintenance, Instagram- @canxformaintenancepodcast.
Twitter- @cxmxpodcast
Did you know we have a comic series? Check it out on the Tapas app or visit us at: https://tapas.io/series/CXMXcomics
Visit our website and check out our merch at www.cancelledformaintenance.com. Have ideas or stories for show? Send us a line at our contact us section of our website!
Looking for the best lightweight, comfortable, and noise-cancelling headset? Visit: dalcommtech.com and use code "canxrules" to save 15% off their products or special orders!
Check out Rockwell Time for awesome outdoor merch and apparel. Use code-CX4MX and save 10%!
Tell us how we are doing, leave us a review if you listen to us on Apple, Stitcher, Podchaser, or IHeart Radio!
Follow us on Goodpods and Podchaser!
https://goodpods.app.link/1Ss1v4ODHlb
Thanks to our monthly supporters, with special shout outs to:
- Dylan K.
- Nordia K.
- Mike S.
- Eric S.
- Kiel K.
- Maxx1700
- Chris H.
- Dan S.
- Ryan F.
- Jennie D.
- Erica L.
- Carm M.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
(upbeat rock music) - Welcome back everyone to the cancel for maintenance podcast. If this is your first time joining us, we're a show that takes a behind the scenes look into the gritty, non-glamorous life of aircraft maintenance. We share some laughs in parts of wisdom, all in hopes of giving you that split seconds relief in your day, that can hopefully prevent a mishap. I am your co-host six. I'm actually gonna be soloing it for today's episode. And before we jump into today's topics, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that our work schedules have been incredibly hectic over the past couple of months. This whirlwind has taken a significant toll on our health and our availability of when we can come together and make episodes. But I'm happy to report that we should be able to make ends meet really soon. We look forward to returning to a more regular schedule of episode releases and we appreciate your patience during this time. Today, I'm gonna be tackling some fascinating and potentially game-changing topics. Some of these have been given to us as feedback and they've been very pressing in today's aviation industry. And two of those topics that I'm gonna bring out is gonna are gonna be the automatic takeoff systems for a commercial aircraft. And likewise, the single pilot operations for, again, commercial aircraft. Give a little exploration of what these technologies mean for the aviation industry. And I'm also gonna give a little bit of what the impacts of those technologies mean for us as aircraft mechanics. So first things first is with the automatic takeoff systems. Recently, Embraer has been in the spotlight for its innovative enhanced takeoff system for their E2 series aircraft. This system is a significant leap forward in automation. It's designed to assist pilots during one of the most critical phases of flight, which is takeoff and the other part being landing. By automatically managing thrust, pitch, even direction, it reduces the workloads on pilots, allowing them to focus more on monitoring and decision-making. Now, this is a game changer for a lot of reasons. First off, I've heard of these systems in other platforms, but most of them were like single pilot operations or no more than two pilots. And neither of which they've been installed in passenger aircraft. So a lot of these are like one to two-person seaters and no more, at most maybe three people in the aircraft, but never with passengers. And the reason why this is such a game changer is because since it's accounting for one of the most critical paths that a pilot has to be mindful of, which is takeoff, this is gonna effectively enhance safety. Again, takeoff is one of the most complex and risky parts of flight. It doesn't seem that way because what's so complex about you just pull up on the stick, right? There's a whole lot that goes into it and pilots out there can really attest, right? It's a lot more complicated than it seems. And I'm sure there's a lot of people in the audience out there who are air traffic controllers who really understand how critical the takeoff operation is. And by making this automated or by automating this process, this can help minimize the human error when it comes to takeoffs. And the second of this is it could lead to more efficient operations. As precise control over the aircraft performance can reduce fuel consumption. It reduces wear and tear on the engines. And overall, it allows the pilot to make more timely decisions and focus on things that matter outside of the takeoff. 'Cause it's one of those moments when you're laser focused on something that's all you see, you get tunnel vision and then everything else that happens, like say the runway has received an incursion or you have to deviate for whatever reason. Those things don't factor in because you're so hyper focused on the operation of takeoff. And again, like these systems I've seen in other platforms, again, these are non passenger ones. So having these installed in passenger planes, if as far as pilots are concerned, this can be such a relief, I would assume, because now they can focus on other things besides the takeoff. And I'm sure some pilots out there, that's like the rush, that's their thing, is the takeoff and vice versa, the landing. But again, like having these systems in place can really change the game as far as safety is concerned. Now, let's not forget about the impact on aircraft mechanics. With more automated systems coming into play, maintenance could become more predictive and less reactive. So as things become more complex, as these things pull more data points, it's gonna be a bit of a learning curve, obviously, for us mechanics because we're not so used to seeing that much data input other than just what the aircraft tells us. But having access to more data and diagnostics enables us as mechanics to perform maintenance before the issues become critical. However, this also means that us as mechanics will need to be trained on these new systems, as I mentioned before. So just because it's there doesn't mean you automatically know what these do or what these mean to you. And for some individuals, again, this is gonna be a massive learning curve, because again, like these data points are not something we're readily used to. So it's just gonna, if it's not handled correctly, it can easily just turn into this, like what does this mean to me? This is trash, I don't care. I know the aircraft, I know my jet, I know my whatever, right? You have those type of individuals who are just so attuned to the plane on a mechanical level that all other inputs just doesn't factor in. So being able to teach these as these systems evolve and become more complex and have more available information, it's gonna be one of those that we have to stay on pace. Or at least try to stay on pace as these systems become more complex and smarter. So us mechanics, we have to understand the software and the hardware that power these system features and then shifting from traditional mechanical repairs to a more technical focused maintenance. It's essentially like making everyone avionics savvy without getting too into the weeds about what the avionics means, right? So for all the mechanics out there, it's gonna be another addition to your plate that on top of being mechanical savvy, you also have to understand software, you have to understand what these different schematics and how these systems tie into each other. And so this sort of becomes a double-edged sword, so to speak. Like while it opens opportunities for efficiency and safety, it also requires a new skill set. You have to have an open mind. And then depending on like how experienced you are as an individual, this may just be too much, right? Too much info because you have to track so many different platforms in your mind. But this also really opens the door to, it's less about memorizing stuff and just knowing how to find it, right? We all get into that habit of like we've done something so many times that we just kind of memorize it. And we don't really follow what manuals or what not say because we're so used to doing something. Or vice versa, we've been in those areas where the manuals are very vague and we have to kind of have these tribal knowledge cheat codes to connect the dots. In either case, this is gonna be a learning curve. This is gonna be a gap, we're gonna have to eventually tackle and fill. But this is kind of like a heads up for all of us in within the aviation world that these technologies are coming, they're being explored now, they're being used in other areas and they're slowly making their way into the passenger field. So understanding these now gives us at least a leg up to try to outpace it before it comes to us. So when it does arrive and as it evolves, we're kind of sort of keeping pace before it gets its next exponential explosion and then we'll have to relearn everything again. So the next thing this kind of bleeds into, since we're having things like automatic takeoff, we're having automation, we're having the system being able to carry on more tasks to free up a pilot to do stuff. This kind of goes into the question or the notion of single pilot operations or SPOs as some people call it. This concept here is gaining a lot of traction, especially in the context of cargo flights, but it's also being discussed in commercial passenger flights. So what does that really mean? Single pilot operations, it's exactly as it sounds, it's one pilot in the plane, period. And already this may sound scary for a lot of people, but again, I'm used to like those areas in those platforms where it's just one pilot doing all the do. But again, like what I said previously, mostly of this stuff is like in the sense of cargo or non-human passengers, right? Like just crates or whatnot. So having this come into the passenger airlines world, it's kind of a shock, really. And the good part is is we're in the stage now, technology wise, where we can have that conversation. Like, well, the systems are so advanced now that maybe we can only worry about just having one pilot into the mix because the system just works so good. It gives enough info, it does the take off, it does the landings, all the critical paths of flight is more or less handled. So really the pilot is just there to make sure that everything runs smooth, so to speak. And again, this is all made possible by the advancement of automation or remote support from ground-based centers. And in some platforms or at least some testing of platforms, you're able to troubleshoot stuff from the ground regardless of where this aircraft is in the air. Now, how intrusive or how intricate these can be? Different story, but the capability is slowly developing in that direction. Now, there are some potential benefits to this. And I would say a large amount of these are from a money standpoint, cost savings, airlines or other type of aircraft owners, they could save a lot of money with this because now they'll have to worry about one pilot being in the plane versus two, three or four, right? There are some of the older days, you would have like a whole crew of pilots. You're the piloting command, the first officer, the navigation officer, instrument officer and so forth, right? They all had an actual role in the whole flying of the plane because it took that many minds and hands to get this rolling. But now, since a lot of the technology is advancing, you have multifunction displays, navigation displays, sooner or later, this automatic takeoff system. So really, like, the weight of the roll is slowly shrinking to where it only requires one pilot. And this on the pro side of things, this helps airlines because that saves significantly on pilot salaries, training. This can help address a pilot shortage that many airlines are facing from a money standpoint, right? Like, this sounds really good from someone who's like counting beings and making sure all this. So if I only need to have one pilot in the seat, then that frees me up to focus on other things, right? And that's where like some of the cons start to come in. So it's like some of the challenges and concerns is the biggest one obviously is being safety, right? Just having one pilot in the plane means there's no backup in case of any type of emergency. And the way we push pilots in nowadays, we're unfortunate to have a second one in the seat. Say for whatever reason, like that. He, that pilot, he or she or has some kind of medical complication or has some type of lapse in judgment or they become incapacitated or whatever the case may be, emergencies happen. That in a traditional sense, as we are now, we have co-pilates, we have second round, another round of pilots in case stuff happens. So in the event here with the single pilot operations, if that pilot goes down, that's a wrap. We've been like, hopefully the systems are smart enough to realize where, okay, hey, I'm not getting input from you land immediately, right? And this again can be a significant issue and some airline companies are actually on board with this. Like we are developing single pilot operated, operatable aircraft now to make up for, or to get a good footing on this. Meanwhile, some other ones are like, well, we're not against the idea. But it would help if you could help us bridge the gap of safety real fast. And that's clearly understandable. So here's a question for everyone of you listening out there. Like, how comfortable would you be knowing full well that the plane that you're riding in is only being piloted by one person and the rest of it is machinery. And I'm sure in the realm of Star Wars or another futuristic style TV show or movie, that's totally fine, right? Like, oh, the robot's piling it's fine. 100% cool, right? They can do all this here and then all the pilots got to do is just push buttons and tell it where to go. Essentially, that's what we try to do. Which in a sense sounds cool, but then again, safety, what happens if the pilot goes down? Or, well, how much is gonna get impacted if the system's going down and how much is that pilot gonna be able to do in those areas? I can imagine like how much stuff a pilot has to worry about right now, especially when it comes to a plane that has people in it or passengers in it. So what more when it's only one person and then he has to rely solely on these systems? It's kinda scary, right? So think about that, right? As a person, like, if you were to ride in this thing, what's your go, no, go line? And how's that gonna impact you, right? Would you even question it? Like, would you even know that the plane is only ran by a single pilot? I mean, I guess sometimes you wouldn't even know right off the, until after you're in the air, like, oh, well, I can't do nothing about it. I'm locked up in here until it comes back down. And so that kinda brings a question too. Like, where would we apply these two, right? Is this something we're gonna go for long haul flights? Is this something we're gonna use for only short go, short go flights? Which do you think is best, right? Personally, in my opinion, I'd say, maybe we'll test this out on short, if that, right? (laughs) Or maybe for just cargo planes, you know, worst case scenario, you know, we'd have to do an emergency land and we lose a couple boxes versus passengers, right? But again, that kinda goes into the safety bit. Like, what is our plan to address the safety concern so that if we do go single pilot ops, that there's a layer of safety that we can rely on in case stuff, right? Now, the obvious impact to this is the pilots, right? Because we're gonna go to single pilot ops or say we do end up going to single pilot ops, that just cuts down a lot of jobs for pilots. So in an already shortage area, or say like for people trying to get into the pilot rail, your window of opportunity just shrank some, right? At least I think so, right? I could be wrong in this, but that's kinda like the at face value impression that I got as of right now. Again, like if someone has a different opinion or have different metrics on this, please tell us because that's kinda like what it's showing right now. And then let's go take this back to maintenance, right? I mentioned before like, you know, there's a lot of these systems going on. So for maintenance is concerned with the single pilot operations, us as aircraft mechanics, us as aircraft maintenance engineers and whatnot, we would need to ensure to a T that all these automated systems are functioning flawless, like zero errors. And the margin of error of these become even smaller with like the slightest glitch, the slightest hiccup in the system could have serious cascading consequences. This means that the role of mechanics would evolve, requiring us to work more closely with the software engineers, IT specialists, avionics specialists and so forth. So then this we're gonna fire a little bit more collaboration in our world of aircraft maintenance to ensure that these systems are always in tip-top shape, which for the most part is happening, but it's not on that collaborative level yet. It's more like fire and forget. Okay, like, oh, I kicked it to the engineers waiting for feedback or I called the super senior avionics tank, we're just gonna let him do his thing and see what happens, right? So like the coordination is there, but like it's kinda like you stay in your bubble, I'll stay in mind, we'll collaborate when we need to and then move on with life. So this again, trying to goes back to that learning curve where we all have to have like this intricate knowledge of what each other does. And this is in the works now, but at face value or as it's currently standing, it's not that strong yet. We're getting there, we're definitely getting there. And a lot of that kind of involves understanding what each other does or what each realm is responsible for. And that awareness piece and how it all collaborates together is one of those key initiatives, I believe that we all need to undertake for both ourselves and as an industry. And having these collaborations and having these type of interwoven knowledge shares, this could lead to more specialized roles within the aviation, within the maintenance field. So like say if someone's a mechanic but he really resonates with the software piece, like the IT or even the IT and avionics piece, that transfer or that cross training could be near seamless because they're so interwoven with each other. And that might actually be an initiative for the near future where like with these collaborations that make cross training makes all this so smooth because they tie into each other. And this also kind of gives like a level of empathy towards each of the fields because this is why they're tied together. These are why these need to be so heavily focused on. And that's kind of where we are now as far as these two are concerned. So both automatic takeoff systems and single pilot operations, they have the potential to significantly impact the aviation industry. They do promise, increase safety, efficiency and cost savings. But this also brings new challenges, especially to us as mix. The obvious impact is gonna be with the pilots because now yesterday have better stuff to worry about but in the sense of single pilot operations. Now they're the sole person. That's the, if anything goes wrong, like it's all you, right? And there's a whole lot of faith and trust that has to be had between the pilot and the plane. Like all these have to work. So I'm hoping that if this ends up ends up being a actionable item for the near future, that A, we've bridged the gap of safety. We've created that layer where we know if something does go wrong, it's not gonna impact so heavily. And then also, I hope this also, if this does go down the path that it's currently going, that the pilots, since they have to rely so much on the aircraft that they have a more intimate relationship with their mechanics. For the most part, we do already. We banter and complain and talk smack to each other but for the most part, like we have this understanding that, hey, you need me, I need you kind of thing. But I'm hoping, but you also get that small percentage who just feel that one or the other is too entitled. Right? I'm guilty of this too, where I've talked smack to my pilots because they feel they're too high in mighty and I'm sure there's other pilots who talk smack about me saying that I'm too lofty and king-like in what I do. But in a real sense that we all have a role to play and each of our roles directly affect the other. So I'm hoping that if we do end up utilizing these newer innovations, these new technologies, that this tightens the relationship between pilots and mechanics. And then this trickles further to say, like when we have to negotiate contracts or we have to do union-like functions with each other that will actually stick up for each other. Like this is like, this would be a no question. Hey, this person needs a raise, we're sticking with it. Hey, this person needs more of this, we're sticking with it. That was very union, that's good for me but I'm just kind of giving an example. Like, I hope this leads to a more unified front on everybody's end, that it's not just one or the other, that we as Max pilots, IT specialist software, et cetera, that we stand together in this as we move forward because if we don't, these systems are gonna do what they want in terms of the cost savings and the benefits to the overall customer which is the people flying in it. So hopefully this gives us more of a reason to band together and take this and stride ahead of time. So when these systems do drop, if they drop, that we have a good enough pace to speak more open, to speak more unified about it. It's exciting time to be part of the industry, whether you're a pilot, a mech or even a passenger. The future is so full of possibilities and we'll be here to keep you informed every step of the way. But hey, let us know what you think. How do you feel about automatic takeoffs, automatic landings, more automation in aviation? How do you feel about single pilot operations? Would you feel comfortable flying in a plane that is only operated by a single pilot and a boatload of automatic machines? Let us know in the comments, let us know in our social media, our emails, our website, whichever is the easiest one for you to get a hold of us. The absolute best way to have conversations like this with us and share knowledge is through our Discord channel, VR Patreon. We're so grateful for our patrons for continuing to support us and we have conversations like this all the time. So once again, send us your feedback and we look forward to hearing what you guys have to say and help grow our knowledge so we can share it to the rest of the world. On that note, hey, thank you all for listening. Stay safe, keep flying, and we'll see you all next time. Bye everybody. We would like to take this time to thank our patrons for supporting our show and allowing us to make episodes, maintain our gear and create merch for all of our listeners. With special thanks to Erica Lamont, Chris Hawkins, Eric Shaw, Dan Schubert, Ryan Fruschauer, Kyle Keir, Mike Sherwood, Caleb Stockhill, and Jennifer Brofer. Thank you all so much for your support and patronage. If you like our show, please support us on Patreon. You will receive awesome perks like access to our private Discord, discounts and early access to our merch, first glimpse of our comics and other projects and so much more. You can further support us and show off your prowess as an aircraft specialist by visiting our shop at councilfermainas.com. If you like classy or rugged watches, visit our affiliate RockwellTime at RockwellTime.com, use the code CX, the number 4 MX to save 10% off your total order. If you have suggestions for the show or you'd like to be a guest on the show, send us a line on our contact us section at councilfermainas.com and we'll do what we can to get both your ideas and yourself on the show. Please support us on social media like Facebook @cancelfermaintenance, Instagram @caanx for maintenance podcast or Twitter @cxmxpodcast. Please check out our new comic series on the tapas app. Like, share, subscribe and comment on our comics. Let us know what you think. Thank you all so much for your support and listenership and we will catch you all next time.
